


Brothers To The End

by ColorfulTaper



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Epic Bromance, Episode 10x22, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Hawaii 5-0 - Freeform, Hawaii Five-0 (2010) - Freeform, Healing, Hurt Danny "Danno" Williams, Male Friendship, Post-Liver Transplant (Hawaii Five-0 2010), Pregnancy, Steve McGarrett & Danny "Danno" Williams Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:20:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23569720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColorfulTaper/pseuds/ColorfulTaper
Summary: Danny Williams finds himself sitting in his chair on the beach waiting for Steve to return from his quest to find his peace.  Just when Danny is starting to lose hope for Steve's return a familiar face shows up with a few surprises.  Alternate ending to the Hawaii 5-0 series finale.  I will not apologize for thinking it deserved a better ending.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett & Danny "Danno" Williams, Steve McGarrett/Catherine Rollins
Comments: 30
Kudos: 47





	Brothers To The End

The sun dipped low to touch the surface of the ocean, on contact its fiery rays painted the sky and waters with luminous hues of red, orange, and gold. The Hawaiian breeze danced through the trees as the Pacific waves lapped gently at the shore, it was another beautiful evening in paradise. Danny Williams stood on the beach behind the McGarrett house like he did every evening since his partner had left to find his peace. Danny sipped at the cold beer in hand, his blue eyes slowly scanned the horizon as the calm of the night began to settle into his weary bones. 

Danny groaned as he sank down into his worn chair and rubbed at the painful knot in his neck. It hadn’t been a particularly hard day on the job it had been nothing more than a simple bank robbery. 5-O had come in and did what they did best, everyone went home alive and the perp went to their new cozy cell. Still Danny couldn’t help but feel mentally and physically drained. The job had lost appeal, the spark that kept bringing him in everyday had finally died. First Kono had left, then Chin, and now Steve. Danny was the last of the original team and he couldn’t help but feel he was late getting off the train. Danny loved Grover and the others, and they loved him, but Danny knew he was the odd man out. 

This realization had made him reconsider retirement but that thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. He thought back to the failed restaurant with Steve and the disappointment they had shared. Danny didn’t know what to do in retirement now that everyone was gone. He had considered going back to the mainland but every time he sat on the beach looking out on the Hawaiian sunset the deck chair next to him empty, Danny thought back to Steve’s promise of them being old men sitting in those chairs and drinking beer. He couldn’t help but cling to that promise. Every night Danny found himself sitting in that chair on the slim chance that his partner would find his way home. Danny took another sip of his beer and thought back to the last time he saw Steve.  
~  
 _“I love you, man,” Steve says. It's the truest words he’s ever spoken. Danny was his other half; they were two sides of the same coin. Blood brothers to the end._

_Danny looks away. He's about to cry and Steve knows it. He won’t cry though; he doesn’t want to be the reason that Steve doesn’t leave. Danny knows that Steve needs to go, and he will support Steve no matter how much Danny wishes he wouldn’t. “Love you too,” Danny mumbles, already moving to sit back down._

_Steve’s lips quirk up into a small smile as he turns to head back inside their home. “Don’t make me come find you,” Danny warns. He tries to make it sound like a threat but both men know it is an open promise. It wouldn’t be the first time Danny came to bring his friend home and it probably wouldn’t be the last._

_Steve’s eyes soften and his smile widens a little, but he doesn’t respond. He couldn’t tell Danny that he wouldn’t need his partner to come and find him. He didn’t know where he was going or how long he was going to be gone. All he knows is he must go._

_With one last look at his partner Danny turns back to the beautiful horizon and leaves Steve to embark on his biggest mission, his mission to find himself. Danny could only hope that Steve would keep his promise that this goodbye wouldn’t be forever. Until then all he could do was wait and wonder what to do next._

Danny sighed as he raised the bottle back to his lips only to realize that it was empty. “Of course.” He grumbled. The sun was about halfway set which left plenty of time for another drink, heaving himself out of his chair Danny made his way to the fridge grabbed a beer and headed back to the beach. Danny didn’t look up as he popped the cap letting the beer fizz.

“That better be for me.” A similar voice calls out into the silence of the night.

Danny almost lets the beer slip from his grasp as emotion swells up in his chest. There sitting in the once haunted deck chair was the one and only Steve Mcgarrett. Steve smiled at his partners shocked expression. Danny’s gut instinct wanted to punch that stupid smile of Steve’s face, but his joy outweighed his annoyance. But Steve didn’t need to know that/

“What the hell is the matter with you?! Huh, it’s been almost 3 months since your last call!” 

Steve’s smile only widened at the banter, it felt so familiar but more importantly it felt like home. “I texted you two days ago.”

“Two days ago.” Danny throws his hands up in the exasperation. “And like texting makes it better, for all I knew the text could have come from a spy or an assassin!”

Steve’s brow raises in disbelief. “An assassin? Why on earth would an assassin be texting from my phone?”

“Why wouldn’t an assassin be texting from your phone Steven, it wouldn’t be the first time you tangled with one of those!” Danny countered.

Steve swiped the beer out of Danny’s hands as his partner took his spot next to him. “I don’t think I like what you are implying Daniel.” 

“I’m not implying anything, what I am saying is facts. You are a danger magnet and as such I deserved a phone call to know that you weren’t held at gunpoint or being charted off to another torture chamber!”

“Unbelievable!” Steve shook his head before taking a swig from the bottle. “Only you would take a nice relaxing vacation and turn it into one of your cheap late-night horror shows! There were no spies, no assassins, and no firefighting.”

Danny scoffed in offense. “I do not watch low-budget horror movies, for your information those are true crime which happen to be cautionary tales and very educational!”

“Why am I not surprised to see you two are already bickering like an old married couple.” 

Both men turned in their seats to see Catherine standing behind them, her hand resting on her slightly rounded stomach. Danny’s eyes widened before flickering back to Steve, a wide grin plastered over his face. “No way, get out of here!” 

Steve blushed as Danny lightly punched his shoulder. Danny got up from his chair and gave Catherine a hug. “Now I know why you wouldn’t answer your phone.” Danny continued to tease with a wag of his eyebrows. “Wow Cath, that’s a nice rock you are sporting too.”

Catherine giggled and fluttered her ring finger. “He did do good, didn’t he?”

Danny nodded before he crossed his arms and pursed his lips. “Did my invitation get lost in the mail or something?”

Steve rolled his eyes before standing and wrapping his arm around his partners shoulder. “Come on, you honestly thought I would get married without my Danno there to be my best man? It’s just an engagement ring.” 

Catherine nodded in agreement. “We both agreed we wanted to be with our friends and family when we got married.” Catherine wrapped her hands over her swollen belly, a tender look on her face. “More importantly we wanted our Danielle to be born at our home.”

Danny couldn’t fake his offense any longer, twisting around he looked and Steve with wide eyes. His friend just smiled and shrugged as if naming his daughter after his partner was no big deal. Danny engulfed Steve in a warm hug. “Congratulations babe!” Steve blinked momentarily surprised at the amount of emotion in his partner’s voice before returning the gestured. 

Steve answered by firmly patting Danny on the shoulder. Catherine caught her fiancé’s attention and thumbed at the house. Steve nodded and watched his girl make her way into the house leaving him alone on the beach with Danny.

Danny pulled out of the hug and really took in Steve’s appearance. Steve’s hair was slightly longer and unruly, his face had a thicker layer of stubble than usual. Apart from that he looked like the normal Steve McGarrett but Danny knew his boy and he could sense that something in Steve had changed. It was a good change and it brought a happy grin to Danny’s face. “You found it didn’t you?”

Steve’s brow furrowed in slight confusion, not catching on. “Found what?”

Danny released Steve and reclaimed his stolen beer. “Peace.” He stated as he took his seat.

Steve thought back to his travels with Catherine and the joy and happiness he experienced. He would cherish the quite moments and the love and good he found in the world. It was nice to see the good that people had to offer instead of the constant battle against the bad. “I found almost everything I was looking for but through it all I was still missing something.”

Steve took his seat next to Danny with a sigh. Danny studied his friend; Steve had a much more relaxed aura. Here Steve sat with his eyes closed, listening to the rhythmic waves of the ocean without a care in the world. He finally didn’t look as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. But Danny had caught the last part of Steve’s answer and it teased his curiosity. “What didn’t you find?”

Steve cracked his eyes open and turned his head towards his partner. “I already had found it I just happened to leave it behind.” Danny frowned clearly not following along. Steve chuckled, reaching out and grasping Danny’s hand in his. “I traveled all over the world and had more fun than I had in years but through it all there was this annoying voice in my head that I couldn’t shake.” Steve looked pointedly at Danny as he continued. “That annoying voice happened to belong to the one and only Detective Danny Williams. Do you know what you kept saying?”

“Quit being a putz?” Danny questioned and laughed when Steve squeezed his hand playfully.

“To never forget about home and the two chairs waiting on our beach.”

Danny dropped his eyes and turned his gaze to the horizon where the crown of the sun barely poked over the water. He thought back to all those evenings he sat in this very chair and waited. All those hours spent contemplating his next step. “For a while I didn’t think you were coming back.” A surprised look crossed Steve’s face and he sat back further in his chair. Danny hastily continued. “I know you said you were, but the radio silence made me suspicious. I had even bought I plane ticket back to Jersey a few months back.”

Steve dropped Danny’s hand and scrubbed a hand down his face. “Why didn’t you leave?”

Danny paused as he considered his reply. “I don’t know, I guess because it didn’t feel right. This,” He motioned to the space around him. “This is my home. Pineapples and all.”

Steve laughed at that. “Look Danny I know I hurt you when I left and trust me it killed me having to leave you hanging like that. But I want you to know I’m sorry but I’m here to stay now.” Steve held up his fist. “Partners?”

Danny stared at the fist and smiled before raising his own. “Partners.”

The sun finally sank beneath the waves, blanketing the earth in a low dusky light, the stars starting to flicker to life. For the first time in over a year both men felt completely right in the world. They were both at home with their brother and tomorrow would be the beginning of a new chapter in their adventures.

**Author's Note:**

> Am I the only one that would have been happier if Danny would have showed up on the plane instead of Catherine? The only way I am ok with it is if the writer had this type of ending where they both returned to the island. I would appreciate your comments to let me know what you think! Stay healthy my friends!


End file.
